Baby Brooke

This weekend was Ate Aprille and Kuya Bryan's baby shower! Brooke is almost here! So excited! It's Kuya Bryan and Ate Aprille's first child which makes it even MORE exciting! This baby shower is probably the cutest baby shower I have ever been to. Oh Ate Aprille and your crafty skills! ( She made pretty much everything from the decor to the desserts!). So cutesy, fluffy, whimsy, and light! I loved it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay for the whole thing because I had work.. but here are some of the pictures I was able to capture while I was there. By the way... IT WAS OWL THEMED!

These are the soon-to-be parents! I wish I took a better picture of them, but I had to leave so quickly:[

Again... Congrats to the both of you! She's coming she's coming! I am so excited for you two. Thank God for this blessing and I can't wait to meet her!

- Rachel Marie

ConGRADulating

Just like my good friend, Sarah, I'm gonna take this time to acknowledge a couple of grads who I am EXTREEEMELY proud of. JESSICA AND RJ!!!!! HOORAY! Congrats college grads! What an amazing feat! Thank God for sustaining you both throughout these years. He has certainly carried you guys through everything. I could honestly see how much perseverance you both have individually.  Both of you have worked really hard for this and deserve every bit of celebration for it! I love and care for you both!!

Jessica and her fam

Rj and his fam

Extended fam! (missing some people!)

It's crazy how much older we are all getting... and even crazier.. I'll be graduating next spring. 

I can't wait to see what else God has in store for all of us.

- Rachel Marie

COFFEE NIGHT

This past weekend has been MORE than crazy. Parties, celebrations, and events galore!

Took millions of pictures.. might as well just share those! Sorry in advanced if there are too many..

First pictures I'm gonna share are the ones from our church's coffee night. This year the high school students were in charge, and they did a great job:] Good job and congrats to the high school for putting on their first big event!

 Food stall

 Whatcha lookin at?

 Being a father and a pastor= serious business

 Ryan gave sarah an autograph. haha

 Coffee and Nieman

 All lit up

 Sarah= the mastermind behind all the nautical decor

 

Cheers to more great events in the future!

- Rachel Marie

Monday Funday!

Yesterday, I decided to go with Dinah to school because I honestly didn't want to be home alone. I already cleaned my room, gave the dogs a bath, and gave my car a huge scrub down! I can cross a whole bunch of things off my list! I brought my foldable bike with me, which was the best idea ever! Biking is one of my newest FAVORITE things to do ever. I mean... I have always loved it, but for some reason, it has become even more enjoyable. Maybe because it's a reasonable/inexpensive/exercise-friendly means of transportation. You save money AND lose weight... WHAT A DEAL! So I biked from my school all the way down to the mall, but first made a quick stop at the park in between. Also, in the middle of my trip... I GOT SOME AMAAAAAAAAAAZING NEWS! I'll let you guys in on the news probably by the end of this week;] 

So... after the news... dapper little Rachel enjoyed the park. It was an absolutely beautiful, clear, sunny day. I brought my camera and decided to practice more by harassing /taking pictures of some ducks and a white crane. I also got to see 10 little ducklings on an outing with their momma! Seriously.. God is a magnificent creator. The color of the trees and the skies, the coolness of the shade, the beauty of nature, and wonder of creation. Man. It's incredible! If you guys ever have time to walk through nature, I would HIGHLY suggest it. It's a major stress reliever and is also a wonderful reminder of how small we are compared to our limitless maker! 

Job 26:7-9

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in his clouds yet the clouds do no burst under their weight. He covers the face of the full moon,spreading his clouds over it.

Nehemiah 9:6

You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

  

Genesis 1:31 

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. 

This is our God.

- Rachel Marie

Oh It is Love

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to my first wedding of this year's wedding season!

I actually went to this particular wedding as my sister's date. Thanks for taking me Ate Hannah! Unfortunately, I did not know the bride and groom personally but from the little of what my sister told me, their story is quite remarkable. God is truly faithful and loving to those who follow them. He has really blessed these two.

Amy was an absolute vision. Just her smile allowed her to glow with absolute exuberance. Grant was also very handsome in his gray suit. Simple and clean. It made me so happy to just see it in his face on how much he adored Amy.

For those of you who know me... I LOVE just taking pictures for fun, especially for special events such as these. I'm still trying to get better so I took advantage of this time to do just that. I was a little embarrassed at the fact that people noticed how much pictures I was taking ( the people on my reception table noted they heard my shutter noises during the ceremony). I had to laugh at the truth of their observation though because I realized that I did get a little camera crazy in a wedding where I did not even know the bride or groom. I was just happy I got to be a part of this beautiful and intimate wedding and having the chance to capture it all! Warning:this post will be filled with pictures!

Grant and his mother

At First Site

 Here comes the Bride

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Deering

reception area

First dance

My favorite wedding giveaways ever. Succulents!

Paparazzi

This is during the "longest marriage" game. A bunch of couples were called onto the dance floor and the winners, and last ones on the dance floor, would be the ones with the most years of marriage. The winners had been married for 53 years. How amazing.

This wedding was beautiful due to the fact that it was small and intimate. It was really ALL about the bride and groom. WHICH I LOVE. It was the perfect amount of flash and elegance. It was strictly all close friends and family who were invited which made it even more of an honor for a person like me to attend it! I was able to be a part of the most important day of these peoples' lives. This is a day which marks the beginning of their lives together and I got to witness it. I got to meet some awesome people and  enjoy a wonderful loving-fun-filled night. Congrats again to Amy and Grant! May God continue to be the center of your lives together! I pray that your love continues to grow for one another!

- Rachel Marie